Lancashire make moves to sign Finn

Lancashire have offered Steven Finn a lucrative, long-term deal in an attempt to lure him away from Lord’s.

Finn made his debut for Middlesex as a 16-year-old in 2005, the youngest man to do so since Fred Titmus in 1949. He is currently out of contract, though, and has so far not signed the new deal offered him by Middlesex.

Finn’s attraction to Lancashire is obvious. The sort of fast bowler who relishes a heavy workload and has a relatively good injury record, he appears to have dipped behind a few others in the England pecking order – he hasn’t played a Test since October 2016 or an ODI since May – so could be expected to be available for county action for most of the season. He also has a good record in all formats of the game and is bowling well enough that he was called into the England squad as cover when Mark Wood was injured.

He might also feel that moving from Lord’s – where the pitches tend to offer bowlers very little – might provide more opportunities to impress. Aged 28, he should have several good years ahead of him.

“There have been approaches for Steven,” Middlesex’s director of cricket, Angus Fraser, told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve been in negotiations and he’s asked for a bit more time. But he’s a Middlesex boy and we very much want him to say.”

Lancashire’s leading seamer this season has been their overseas player, Ryan McLaren, and they may be concerned that Kyle Jarvis could be persuaded to return to international cricket with Zimbabwe.